The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of petunia plant obtained from crossing a wild type of petunia plant (.female.) native to Brazil and `Recoverer White (.male.)`.
Petunia is a very popular plant and is used for flower bedding and potting in the summer season. There are only a few varieties of the petunia plant which do not have an upright growth habit and which have a high resistance to rain, heat, and drought. Accordingly, this invention was aimed at obtaining a new variety of decumbent habit petunia plant having long stems and large blooms, the bush remaining in bloom for a considerable period of time, and a high resistance to rain, heat, and drought.
The new variety of petunia plant according to this invention originated from a crossing of a wild type of petunia plant native to Brazil as the female parent and `Recoverer White` as the pollen parent, in June, 1985 at the Yachiyo Farm of Keisei Rose Nurseries, Inc., residing at 755 Owadasinden, Yachiyo-shi, Chiba-ken, Japan. From this crossing, 350 seedlings were obtained in 1986, from which 5 seedlings were selected, propagated by cutting, and then grown as a trial by flower bedding. Only one of the 5 resulting plants was selected. The botanical characteristics of the finally-selected plant were then examined, using a similar variety, male parent `Recoverer White`, for comparison, from the spring of 1987. As a result, it was concluded that this petunia plant is distinguishable from any other variety, whose existence is known to us, and this new variety of petunia plant was named `Revolution Purplepink`.
In the following description, the color-coding is in accordance with the Horticultural Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society, London, England (R.H.S. Color Chart), and the Inter-Society Color Council--Nation Bureau of Standards Color Name (ISCC-NBS Color Name). A color chart based on the Japan Color Standard for Horticultural Plant (JHS Color Chart) is also added for reference.
The female parent used in the breeding of `Revolution Purplepink` is a wild type of petunia native to Brazil, the seeds of which were gathered at Gramado, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil and introduced to Japan in October, 1983. This wild type of petunia plant is presently maintained at the aforementioned Yachiyo Farm of the Keisei Rose Nurseries, Inc. The main botanical characteristics of this female parent are as follows.
Plant: PA0 Stem: PA0 Leaf: PA0 Flower: Opening obliquely upward. PA0 Physiological and ecological characteristics: High resistance to cold, relatively high resistance to heat, and moderate resistance to disease and pest. PA0 Plant: PA0 Stem: PA0 Leaf: PA0 Flower: Opening obliquely upward. PA0 Physiological and ecological characteristics: High resistance to rain, heat, and disease, and moderate resistance to pest.
Growth habit.--Decumbent. PA2 Plant height.--20 cm. PA2 Spreading area of plant.--100-150 cm in diameter. PA2 Blooming period.--May to August in the southern Kanto area, Japan. PA2 Length from base.--50-80 cm. PA2 Thickness.--Main stem 2.0-3.0 mm; lateral stem 1.5-2.5 mm. PA2 Color.--Strong yellow green (R.H.S. 144B-144C, JHS 3512-3513). PA2 Branching.--Over-abundant. PA2 Pubescence.--Many. PA2 Length of internode.--1.0-2.0 cm before blooming; 1.5-3.0 cm during blooming. PA2 Phyllotaxis.--Opposite both before and during blooming. PA2 Shape.--Oval. PA2 Size (average).--4.5-5.5 cm.times.2.5-3.5 cm. PA2 Thickness.--0.4-0.5 mm. PA2 Color.--Grayish olive green (R.H.S. 137A-137B, JHS 3716-3717). PA2 Pubescence.--Few. PA2 Type.--Single. PA2 Shape.--Funnel-shape, with five-fissured limb. PA2 Diameter.--4.0-5.0 cm. PA2 Color.--In the unopened stage (bud), dark reddish purple (R.H.S. 79B, JHS 8907-8909); when open, vivid reddish purple (R.H.S. 74A, JHS 9207), at full bloom, vivid reddish purple (R.H.S. 80A, JHS 8906). PA2 Reproductive organs.--1 pistil and 5 stamens, both normal. PA2 Peduncle.--0.9-1.2 mm in thickness, and 2.0-2.5 cm in length. PA2 Growth habit.--Upright. PA2 Plant height.--30-40 cm. PA2 Spreading area of plant.--25-30 cm in diameter. PA2 Blooming period.--April to September in the southern Kanto area, Japan. PA2 Thickness.--Main stem 5.0-7.0 mm; lateral stem 2.5-4.5 mm. PA2 Color.--Strong yellow green (R.H.S. 144B-144C, JHS 3512-3513). PA2 Branching.--Abundant. PA2 Pubescence.--Normal. PA2 Length of internode.--2.0-3.0 cm before blooming; 2.0-4.0 cm during blooming. PA2 Phyllotaxis.--Verticillate before blooming; opposite during blooming. PA2 Shape.--Oval. PA2 Size (average).--4.5-5.0 cm.times.2.5-3.0 cm. PA2 Thickness.--0.4-0.6 mm. PA2 Color.--Strong yellow green to moderate olive green (R.H.S. 144A-146A, JHS 3507-3508). PA2 Pubescence.--Few. PA2 Type.--Single. PA2 Shape.--Funnel-shape, with five-fissured limb. PA2 Diameter.--8.0-8.5 cm. PA2 Color.--In the unopened stage (bud), pale yellow green (R.H.S. 4D-157A, JHS 3304-3303); both when open and at full bloom, greenish white (R.H.S. 155D-155C, JHS 3701). PA2 Reproductive organs.--1 normal pistil having a strong yellow green (R.H.S. 144B-144C, JHS 3512) stigma, and 5 normal stamens each having a pale yellow (R.H.S. 161D, JHS 2503) anther and a greenish white (R.H.S. 157D, JHS 3501) filament. PA2 Peduncle.--1.5-2.5 mm in thickness, and 2.5-3.0 cm in length.
`Recoverer White`, used as the male parent in the breeding of this new variety `Revolution Purplepink`, is one of the Recoverer Series bred by the Sakata Seed Corp., Japan. The Recoverer Series includes `Recoverer Scarletred`, `Recoverer Blue`, and `Recoverer Pink`, and these plants are commonly characterized by a high resistance to rain. The main botanical characteristics of `Recoverer White`, are as follows.
This new and distinct variety of petunia plant, `Revolution Purplepink`, was asexually reproduced by cutting at the aforementioned Yachiyo Farm of Keisei Rose Nurseries, Inc., and the homogeniety and stability thereof were confirmed.